Hi Val. Thanks for stopping by and sharing a little bit of "your story". Your house, gardens and "self sufficiency" systems sound truly inspirational. (Especially since you've been able to do such a large part of the work yourselves!) Your actions make it clear that your values influence all of your major life decisions (from family size to car selection, etc.). There are so many good ideas in this post! Thank you again for sharing (and please feel free to tell us more over time)...

Part of trying for self sufficiency to us was a great deal of sweat equity in our house, and self installed off-grid solar electric. Lots of gardens, both seasonal outside and all year solarium help save money. We also have whole grains and a Nutrimill, but mainly for our 1 1/2 year emergency supply. Our work is 30k away and we use a hybrid. We also had one child only, knowing one or none was the only way to help future generations, along with the lowest possible carbon, and ecological footprint. Plus the peace and quiet of living out in the country and the nature around here. We are thinking of livestock, but have not started that yet. Probably food rabbits. We have investigated aquaculture for growing catfish, too. That would require another solarium addition and more solar panels. Our interior gardens also grow worms which could feed the fish. Still a maybe.